The present invention is related generally to wireless communication devices, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for intuitive audio keypad navigation for a wireless communication device.
Wireless communication devices, such as cellular telephones, are very popular. They allow a user to send and receive telephone calls from virtually any location. Cellular telephones also have features not found in conventional land-line telephones. For example, cellular telephones often have a display that shows information, such as a telephone number being entered by the user, contents of a telephone directory or address book stored in the cellular telephone, and various menu items indicating operational settings of the cellular telephone. Thus, the display provides convenience to the user.
As with conventional telephones, cellular telephones may also have audible signals that are played whenever a button (e.g., a key) on a keypad of the cellular telephone is pressed. That is, as the user uses the keypad to dial the digits of a destination telephone number, a xe2x80x9cbeepxe2x80x9d is played to indicate to the user that a key has been pressed. However, these beeps are nothing more than indistinguishable monotones. In certain situations, such as operation during darkness, when the user is driving a vehicle, or in other situations where the user""s attention is occupied, these beeps provide no assurance to the user that a telephone number has been successfully entered and dialed. Because all of the beeps sound alike, it is impossible to tell whether a xe2x80x9c1,xe2x80x9d a xe2x80x9c2,xe2x80x9d or other digits in the same approximate location on the keypad have been pressed. This disadvantage of conventional telephones and conventional cellular telephones is particularly troublesome for users who are blind or in sight-impaired situations. Therefore, it can be appreciated that there is a significant need to provide a wireless communication device that can be operated without having to rely upon visual identification of particular keys on the keypad. The present invention provides this and other advantages as will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying figures.
An embodiment of the present invention provides a wireless communication device comprising a keypad having a plurality of keys. A processor is coupled to the keypad, and an output driver is coupled to the processor, with the processor responsive to activation of the plurality of keys by a user to trigger the output driver to generate a unique output signal corresponding to each of the plurality of keys. An audio output device is responsive to a triggering of the output driver and provides audible signals corresponding to the unique output signal. User activation of a selected one of the plurality of keys results in a generation of a unique audible signal corresponding to the activated key.
In one embodiment, the audible signal comprises a key name associated with the activated key. In another embodiment, the audible signals comprise a number of tones, with the number of tones corresponding to a numerical value of an associated key. In yet another embodiment, the audible signals comprise one of a high, medium, low, rising, falling, or long tone.
The wireless communication device can further comprise a volume control to change a speaker volume of the wireless communication device. The output driver generates an associated output signal corresponding to the volume control and alters the associated output signal if the volume control is changed by the user. The wireless communication device also can further comprise an alert circuit structured to provide a plurality of user-selectable alerts. The output driver generates different output signals corresponding to the user-selectable alerts. Yet another embodiment of the wireless communication device further comprises a memory storing a plurality of telephone numbers. The output driver generates a unique output signal corresponding to each of the telephone numbers.
One embodiment of the present invention provides a method of operating a wireless communication device. The method comprises providing a keypad having a plurality of keys, activating one of the plurality of keys, generating a unique output signal corresponding to the one key and in response to activation of the one key, and responding to the unique output signal by providing a unique audible signal corresponding to the activated key.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable medium having stored thereon a data structure for a wireless communication device, with the wireless communication device including a keypad having a plurality of keys. The data structure comprises a plurality of data fields corresponding to the plurality of keys, with each of the data fields containing data representing a unique sound associated with each of the plurality of keys, and a selector data field to select one of the plurality of data fields in response to user activation of the associated one of the plurality of keys.